Secrets
by GAlinda With A 'Guh
Summary: A quickly wrapped case has to re-open when new evidence surface. Meanwhile Olive learns the Pie Maker's secret.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first funfic. I wrote it when I finished watching PD a year ago. I hope you like it. Plz review and let me know if I should post the next chapters...  
***I own nothing!***No copyright infringement intended!*****

_At this very moment in the town of Coeur d' Coeurs young Charlotte Charles, a.k.a. Chuck, was nine years, eleven weeks, six days, eighteen hours and twenty three minutes old. After her father's death and Ned's departure, young Chuck was feeling lonely and sad. Her aunts Lilly and Vivian, also known as "The Darling Mermaid Darlings", had given her bees and beehives in hope that she would eventually forget the Beaver Boy and move on with her life. Little did they know that in nineteen years, thirty-four weeks, one day and fifty-nine minutes they would lose their beloved niece. Forever…_

_Everything started out normal that Wednesday morning. Ned woke up before Chuck and watched as she was waking up. He liked watching her waking up but he would not tell her… Three hours, nine minutes and forty-six seconds had passed after that moment and it was already clear that this would be a different Wednesday._

"I have reasons to believe that there is _no_ other way to go through this…" said Chuck. "We have to tell her the truth."

"No, we don't. Why do we have to tell her the truth? We don't have to tell her the truth. There's no point in telling her the truth. If we tell her the truth-" said Ned but Emerson

-obviously irritated- cut him before he was finished.

"Enough already! You said the word "truth" four times in the last five seconds! Now why do we _have_ to tell her?" Ned opened his mouth. "Not you! I was asking the dead girl over here."

"How would you feel if you did anything you could to please your friends and they didn't seem to care about you not one bit?" said Chuck with a strange look on her face.

"First of all, I would feel fine! Been there, done that!"

"But- Really?" Chuck tried to protest but unsuccessfully.

"And second of all, what the hell is wrong with your face? You look… Strange."

"What's wrong with her face? Let me see. There's nothing wrong with her face. Now can we get back to the "tell her- not tell her" thing?" It was clear that Ned was not at all happy with Chuck's idea.

"What's up gang? What's you talking about? Tell who?" said Olive cheerfully as usual when she noticed that Ned, Chuck and Emerson were talking secretly -again- without including her.

"Hey, Olive." greeted Chuck.

"So? What's going on? Murder? Can I play?" said Olive without paying any attention to Chuck.

"If we wanted you to play, don't you think that we'd have already invited you?" responded Emerson with the usual tone he would always use when he was talking to Olive.

"Olive?"

"Yes?"

_Olive hoped that Ned would say something like 'Of course you can play.' or 'You're our itty bitty, right?' but instead, Ned said something that made Olive feel like she had been feeling the last months that Chuck was around. Unwanted._

"Olive, please be a dear and go get me some more coffee, ok?"

"And a slice of the Triple Pie. A la mode." said Emerson.

"Ok… Chuck? What do you want? Strawberry? Raspberry? Cherry?" asked Olive while trying to hold up some tears.

"Nothing for me. Thanks." replied Chuck with a sympathetic tone and Olive left holding her pen and pad in one hand and wiping her cheek with the other.

"See what I'm talking about? We made her cry. I mean come on! That's cruel even for you Emerson!" said Chuck critically.

"Hey! You be nicer! And don't point me your finger!"

"Whatever! I'm telling Olive and that's final!" said Chuck and stood up.

"Chuck! Wait!" Ned wanted to stop her but he knew that he would kill her instantly. So, he didn't move.

"What are you gonna do? Stop me? How? You'll have to touch me to do that… I don't think you can touch me… You're not a murderer."

"Well, technically-"

"Here's your pie and your coffee." said Olive who appeared out of nowhere. "Can I ask who's a murderer or I'm not supposed to?" she asked but no one answered. "Ok. Got it…"

_Olive could not understand why the three people she was so close to would always be so distant. Did she do something wrong? The only thing she wanted was to be included. Nothing more and certainly nothing less. She knew things about everyone that she wasn't supposed to but that didn't seem to change anything. Every single day she was feeling less and less as a part of their team…_

"Olive!"shouted Chuck and grabbed her hand. "Can you come with me for a moment?" Olive looked at her confused.

"She's gonna do it isn't she? I knew it was a bad –no! A really bad idea to let her live!" Emerson was worried but he was also proud to be right once again.

"Emerson, you have expressed your opinion on this countless times."

"See what's happening now? The Dead Girl is going to tell everything to Little Big Mouth and then-What is it now?" he shouted when his phone started ringing. "Yes? Yes. No… Are you positive? No. Where? Ok. New case. Call the Dead Girl."

"Oh, now you want her with us?"

"Go and get her before she reveals everything to Olive!"

"Gees… Ok!"

"Oh and warn her that it's gonna be ugly!" he said and he looked the big half-eaten slice of Triple Pie a la mode in the plate in frond of him. '_One day, I want to eat a piece of pie like a normal person!'_ he thought while cutting a piece with his fork. Of course, in his opinion, money was far more useful than pie therefore he preferred some extra cash than some extra Triple Pie a la mode.

_The facts were these: Young Ariel McCain was eleven years, one month, twelve weeks twenty-nine days and one minute old when she died. Her death was cruel. Her father appeared on the News earlier that day begging for help to find his daughter's killer. Olive would comment on the murder with the most well-aimed comment someone could make: "I hope whoever did this will rot in jail! Who kills a kid?" Everyone agreed…_

"Ok. What I'm about to tell you, might seem strange and a bit like it was taken from a movie, but I swear it's a hundred percent true."

"Ok…"

"About four months ago, there was a story on the News. The story of Lonely Tourist Charlotte Charles, who-"

"Chuck!"

"Ned? What…?"

"We have a case. Come on."

"What about me?" asked Olive with a last bit of hope inside her.

"You stay here. We can't close. It's just eleven o'clock…"

The smile on Olive's face did not go away. It stayed there. It became even bigger. It was an awkward smile that showed exactly how she felt when she heard the phrase '_You stay here.'_ Olive left the kitchen leaving Ned and Chuck alone.

"You… Didn't tell her, did you?"

"No… She still believes that I faked my death and I think that it will stay that way for some time…"

"Thank you… Telling her will probably put her life in danger and- Well, we don't want that…"

"No. We don't…"

**Thnx 4 reading! Plz review! TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: That's the 2nd chapter. I uploaded pretty quickly because I had it already written. Chapter 3 will take more time...**  
*****I own nothing!***No copyright infringement intended!*****

"You said it's gonna be ugly. Why?" asked Ned when he, Emerson and Chuck entered the morgue.

"It's our first child victim."

"A child? Oh my God!" sighted Chuck while taking off her hat and sunglasses which were both yellow –to match her dress, shoes and handbag.

"If you're gonna cry, please stay outside." The last thing Emerson wanted was the Dead Girl crying over a dead child. He wasn't heartless, he just wanted to do his job as quickly as possible and get the money -which he unwillingly would share with the Pie Maker.

"I'm fine. Come on, Ned. Let's do it."

Ned uncovered the dead body. It was a little girl with long blonde hair. '_She looks just like Olive.' _he thought but he didn't say anything. Chuck and Emerson thought and did the same. Ned walked closer to the "bed" so that he could touch the girl. He stretched out his magic finger and touched the girl. She woke up making a little gasp.

"What happened?" she asked panicked as she got up.

"Sweetie… There's no easy way to say this but…" started Chuck.

"I'm dead, aren't I?"

"Yes… I'm really sorry…" said Ned while signing to Chuck to move back. "Do you know who killed you? And why you have fork marks on your body? Sorry If I'm too abrupt, but we only have a minute…"

"I know who killed me but trust me, I have no idea how the fork marks got there…" she answered puzzled.

"Who killed you, honey?"asked Chuck with a very sympathetic tone.

"It was my Dad…"

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah! He said that he had enough and that-"

"Sorry. Your minute's up… Don't worry… We'll bring you justice…" said Ned and he touched the girls hand making her die for a second time that day.

"Her father?" asked Chuck surprised.

"Isn't he that creep who appeared on the News this morning crying because his daughter had been murdered?" said Emerson. "I knew there was something wrong with him…"he continued mostly to himself rather than Ned and Chuck.

_Her Father had killed her. The facts were these: Gus McCain, also know as "The Big Fish Of The Music Industry", was thirty years, fifty-one weeks, sixteen days and ninety-two minutes old when he "killed" his young daughter. His excuse? "I was drunk." he would say to the Press. "The Big Fish" was arrested -much to his surprise- and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Olive's wish had come true after all. The person who did it would indeed rot in jail…_

_Back at the Pie Hole_

"That was wrapped up quickly." said Emerson who was sitting in his usual table eating a big slice of rhubarb pie a la mode.

Ned who, despite that he was sitting right next to him, he hadn't heard anything he said, shook his head hoping that what Emerson said did not require further explanation.

_Ned's mind was on the two girls at the counter. The first was Lonely Tourist Charlotte Charles, better known as Chuck. His childhood sweetheart who was brought back to life by his magic finger but, unfortunately for both of them, they could never touch each other. The other, was Olive Snook. The former professional jockey who was now working as a waitress at the "Pie Hole". The petite waitress had made it clear that she had feelings for the Pie Maker. The Pie Maker had made it clear that he had feelings for the Dead Girl. Olive Snook's heart was broken but, as she had stated in the past, all she wanted was Ned to be happy. And he was…_

"A child… A young, innocent child… What is wrong with people?" told Chuck to herself.

"What child?" asked Olive who was standing behind the counter in her little green waitress uniform and was writing something in her pad. Chuck didn't answer. She didn't even move. "Chuck? You there?" asked Olive while rapping her knuckles in frond of her face. "Are you talking about the girl in the News? I hear her Father killed her… What a freak…" Chuck looked at Olive and remembered the resemblance between her and young Ariel McCain.

"I have to go." she said hastily and walked towards the exit leaving Olive all by herself.

"Where is she going?" asked Ned who approached Olive when he saw Chuck walking fast to the exit.

"Don't look at me! You never tell me anything…" answered Olive in a very disappointed tone.

"Didn't she say anything?" continued Ned trying not to look at Olive's eyes which were filled with tears. Ned had started to think that she was crying in purpose to make him and the others feel bad about not letting her in on their little "games" but he didn't say anything.

"Well… she said something about a child and something about people and that something's wrong. She left when I asked her what she was talking about…" replied Olive and she added: "Excuse me now. I have to go check the customers…" while grabbing the coffeepot.

"Not your lucky day, is it?"

_Emerson Cod was right. And he loved to be right. That day was not the Pie Maker's lucky day. In fact, it was the unluckiest day he have had in the last month. Chuck had started to protest regarding their decision to let Olive out of the whole "magic finger that wakes the dead" story and Olive was mad at all of them for not letting her "play". The Pie Maker wished for the hundredth time that he did not possess the gift of awaking the dead which made him more unhappy than happy. And then he remembered. Without his "gift" his childhood sweetheart Charlotte Charles, a.k.a. Chuck, would still be dead and they would have never meet each other again. So it was perfectly clear that the Pie Maker's ability made him happy. The happiest Pie Maker in the world._

"What's with the Dead Girl and Little Big Mouth?" said Emerson.

"Chuck's still upset about the victim. You know, the little girl. And Olive... Well, she's Olive."

"Ugh... Women..." Emerson did not usually use phrases like "Ugh... Women..." but that moment, this phrase described perfectly what was going on. At least the Pie Maker knew exactly what he meant.

"Hey, Ned! I'm leaving! Ok?" Olive's voice sounded like it was coming from far away. Ned looked around to see where she was and he understood why. She was already at the door turning the "Open" sign to "Close" and taking her coat and Digby.

"Ok. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah... Bye Emerson!"

"Oh, just leave!" said Emerson.

"Ugh... Come on Digby. Let's go home." She took Digby's leash and left saying something to the Golden Retriever.

"Ok... I'm gonna leave too... Can't say it was along day, but... I could use some rest..." said Emerson, stood up and headed to the exit.

"I guess I should leave too..." soliloquized Ned and turned off the lights.

**Thnx 4 reading! Plz review! TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Ok... 3rd chapter's up! *yay* It's a bit bigger than the other two... I haven't written the 4th one yet so it'll take me some time to upload it.  
***I own nothing!***No copyright infringement intended!*****

_Emerson Cod enjoyed knitting. He never did it in public in fear he would be embarrassed by his "girly hobby" as his Mother would often say but he would sometimes stay to his office late to knit. The P.I. had also another hobby. He was determined to find his lost daughter. To do that, he started making a pop-up book entitled "The Adventures Of Lil' Gumshoe" in hope that his long lost daughter would read it and try to find her father._

_That Wednesday night, Emerson Cod stayed at his office late. Neither to knit nor to work on his pop-up book. He wanted to think. He didn't know what he wanted to think about. All he knew was that something told him that he should stay at his office that night. And when the door opened he understood why he should have gone home instead of listening to the little voice inside him…_

"Mr. Cod?" said the woman who had just entered.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Emerson Cod?" She wanted to be sure she came to the right place.

"What did the sign on the door say?" asked Emerson who had started losing his patience.

"Emerson Cod P.I." answered the young woman.

"Then, yes."

"I'm Kim McCain. Ariel's mother." That phrase made the Emerson look up.

_Kimberly "Kim" Novak -later named McCain- was seventeen years, eleven weeks, three days and not a minute older when she found out that she was pregnant. The baby's father? Eliot McCain. Brother of Gus McCain and lover of Kimberly. Eliot was nineteen years, fifty-one weeks, one day and fifty-five minutes old when his lover told him that she was having his baby and when he told her that they shouldn't tell the truth to anyone as she was dating Gus at the time. Young Kimberly agreed and she tricked Gus McCain into believing that it was in fact his baby. The McCain family, loved to be traditional. As a result, Gus McCain proposed to young Kimberly "Kim" Novak and raised the baby as his own. It wasn't until eleven years, one month, twelve weeks twenty-nine days and one minute later that he discovered the truth._

_As Kimberly "Kim" Novak slash McCain explained to the Private Investigator what had happened, he was busy looking at her dark brown hair, her short skirt -which revealed a pair of well-shaped long legs- and her big blue eyes. Kimberly finished her narration with the phrase: "Gus didn't kill Ariel." and the P.I. opened his mouth to respond._

"Miss-"

"It's Mrs…" she corrected him.

_Emerson apologized to her and commented on the fact that she was very young to be a 'Mrs.' Words that she took as a compliment and thanked him with a big smile on her face. Normally, Emerson would not care for something like that but there was something about that young brunette woman. Something he liked._

"Mrs. McCain, we have evidence which prove that Gus McCain killed Ariel."

"What kind of evidence?" Emerson Cod did not expect that question. "Do you have hair with his DNA on it? Do you have his fingerprints? Do you have a fiber than may indicate that he is the one who ended my daughter's life? Do you have anything, anything at all, that proves that he is responsible?"

_Emerson Cod was left speechless. The first thing he thought was: 'What the Hell?...' He then cleared his throat while trying to find something to say._

"So?" insisted Kim.

"Look, Mrs. McCain, I'm not supposed to discuss an open case. When we're done, you'll be informed." This was the best thing he could think to say.

_The P.I. watched as Kimberly "Kim" Novak slash McCain stood up, thanked him and walked slowly out of his office. That woman had definitely something that triggered Emerson Cod._

_Meanwhile, at Ned's apartment, things were out of hand for the Pie Maker and the girl named Chuck._

"Chuck, we've already been though this and I thought you actually agreed!"

"I know! But- Didn't you think that Ariel McCain looked a lot like Olive? I mean with shorter hair they would look almost exactly the same..."

"Yes..." said Ned slowly. "I have one question though... What does this have to do with the fact that you want to tell Olive the truth?" The confusion was clear in his voice.

"Well... I don't know! I guess it's another factor that pushes me to that direction... You know, telling Olive... I mean, with all that's happening, it will be good to have another member in our 'team'."

"Olive _is_ a member of our team! She just doesn't have a "behind the scenes" pass..."

"Exactly! I'm just saying that you and Emerson should at least _think_ the _possibility_ of telling her."

"Chuck, why do you want to drag Olive into this?"

"I'm not dragging her into anything! She _wants_ to be- "dragged"! Don't you get it? It breaks my heart every time we lie to her... Just- Just say you'll think about it."

"I'll think the possibility of thinking about it." Ned was clearly trying to find a way out of the conversation.

"What?" He had managed to gain a little time to think his next words but, lucky for him, he didn't have to say anything as the phone started ringing.

"Saved by the phone..." murmured Chuck and walked to the kitchen to make some more tea. She was about to drink the first sip when Ned entered and told her:

"It was Emerson. He said we should go to his office ASAP."

"_We_ should go to his office or _you_ should go to his office and I just come along with the Pie Boy?" asked Chuck knowing that the Private Investigator had not tried to hide the fact that he did not particularly like her.

"_We_ should go to his office. What are you doing?"

"I'm drinking tea... Why?"

_The Pie Maker knew exactly what the girl named Chuck was doing. What he didn't know, was why he had asked her that question. For a moment he thought she might be doing something else. Something she didn't want him to know. Looking at her face, the Pie Maker realized that he was being unreasonable so he decided not to say anything more than a simple: 'Nothing...'_

"Well come on! I thought you said ASAP..." Chuck was already putting on her red scarf. "Should I take the glasses too?" she asked Ned.

"It's nine thirty in the a.m. Chuck. I don't think you really need them."

"You're right... Ok. Let's go."

_As the Pie Maker and the girl named Chuck exited the apartment, the petite waitress peeped from her peephole. Only when she made sure they were gone, she opened slowly her door. The former jockey walked as quietly as possible towards the staircase and watched the Pie Maker and Lonely Tourist Charlotte Charles exiting the building. It was time to put her plan into action. She took two hairgrips. Olive Snook had seen a lot of movies involving breaking and entering. It would be easy to break in in the locked apartment. Or so she thought..._

"Oh, come on! It's not that hard in the movies! Ugh... Great plan Olive! I could have asked Ned to give me a key but nooo. I have to do it the hard way!" Olive was trying for more than five minutes when she finally heard the 'click' she wanted. "Yes! I'm in! That wasn't so hard..." She had no idea why she was talking to herself. It was something that she did quite often the last few months.

_Olive's plan was simple. Enter Ned's apartment and look around. Look around for anything that might seem important or out of the ordinary. Of course, the blonde waitress didn't know what was ordinary and what wasn't in Pie Maker's apartment as she had seen it only a couple of times but that didn't bother her at all._

_While Olive Snook was busy looking around the Pie Maker's apartment, Emerson Cod was busy informing Ned and the girl named Chuck about his little meeting with Kimberly "Kim" Novak slash McCain._

"Are you serious?" asked Ned after a few moments of silence.

"Am I laughing?"

"No..."

"Then I'm serious!"

"Um... Can we go back a bit? Eliot is Ariel's father?" Chuck was confused. And she wasn't the only one.

"Yes..."

"But she was raised by Gus?"

"Yes. Do you have a point?" Emerson talked abruptly.

"Well... If _Eliot_ _is_ her father but _Gus_ _raised_ her like _he_ was her father, who was she referring to when she said: 'It was my Dad'?"

"You know? That's actually a very good question. Emerson?" said Ned and looked at Emerson.

"What? Oh, I'm supposed to know? I'm not the one with the 'magic finger' you know."

"We can't wake her again! It's only possible once. Remember?" intervened Chuck.

"Yes, Chuck. I remember."

"You don't have to be rood..." she murmured.

"So what are we gonna do?" interrupted Ned.

"I guess we're going 'old school'!" said Chuck with enthusiasm.

"You don't need to be so enthusiastic! 'Old school' means more work!" It was clear Emerson was not as happy about going 'old school' as Chuck.

"Yeah! But more work means more money..." Money. Emerson's -not so secret- weakness. He'd do anything for money.

"Now I sure like that!..." Chuck and Ned looked each other and smiled slyly.

**Thnx 4 reading! Plz review (was it too big? Too many details?)! TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Chapter 4's up! :D My PC crashed and it's not fixed yet. That means that it will take me some time to upload Ch. 5 :(...**  
*****I own nothing!***No copyright infrigement intended!*** **

_At this very moment, young Olive Snook was nine years, thirty-six weeks, four days and fifty-eight minutes old and she was sneaking around the one room in her house in which she was not allowed to enter. The former jockey and present waitress would remember what she had found in that room. She had found photos and love letters. From a 'cherry pie' to a 'cupcake'. Young Olive never told anyone about her little discovery. She didn't have to. Her parents found out on their own when they noticed that the door was left unlocked. 'You are grounded for the rest of your life, young lady!' were her father's exact words but young Olive knew her parents well. She knew they didn't really care._

_Nineteen years, fifty-five weeks, one day and two minutes later, Olive Snook found herself doing the exact same thing. She was sneaking around the Pie Maker's apartment looking for something important. Like the love letters which -as she later discovered- were from her teacher to her father..._

"There must be _something_ good around here!" Olive told to herself. "Nothing... Nothing... Useless..." Olive had opened all the drawers she could find. She then decided that it was time to leave the living-room. "Oh! Photo-albums! I love photos!" she said when she found a shelf with the Pie Maker's photo-albums.

_Olive opened a couple of the photo-albums just to see some childhood photos with young Ned and his young neighbor Charlotte Charles. The petite, blonde waitress made a sound of deep disappointment and headed straight to the bed-room because -according to her own self- the most interesting things would be in there. And there were..._

"What the- Who locks the wardrobes and hides the keys?" She asked out loud when she realized that all the wardrobes were locked and the keys nowhere to be found. But then, something else caught her attention. A little notebook on one of the nightstands. _'If I'm lucky, this will be a diary.'_ she thought and approached the nightstand. She took the little notebook and read what was written on the cover. 'Charlotte Charles'. A smile appeared on Olive's face and it grew wider when she realized what she was holding. "I just stuck gold!" she exclaimed, sat on the bed and opened Chuck's diary. She read the first entry. "That's weird..."

_Olive Snook wandered why the very first entry Chuck had made started like this: 'I saw Ned again today. I can't believe it! After all these years... And I learned about the secret... He swore me not to tell anyone.' The "Pie Hole" waitress felt a wave of frustration sweep thought her. 'Ugh! So close!' she thought and turned to the last page. Olive scanned the page until she found her name. For a moment, Olive Snook hesitated. But the moment passed and she started reading. The petite blonde smiled at the phrase 'Olive is always so nice...' but her smile disappeared when she read 'The victim today was a little girl. It was so sad... I thought that she looked like Olive... It's weird...' Olive Snook stopped reading. Her smile had been replaced by an 'Oh HELL no!' expression._

_The petite waitress' "answers mission" had certainly created more questions than it had answered. What was the Pie Maker's secret? Had the Pie Maker, the girl named Chuck and the P.I. found out about little Ariel? Olive Snook felt like the room was spinning faster and faster. Unfortunately -for Olive-, a very familiar sound made her breathe again. It was the elevator which had just stopped on the ground floor and was now about to move upwards. The former jockey panicked. She closed the diary, placed it back where it was and run to the door as fast as she could (of course, the tight dress and the high heeled shoes she was wearing were not particularly helpful). She had just exited the Pie Maker's apartment when the elevator door opened in frond of her._

"Hey, Olive!" said Chuck with a smile on her face and waved. Olive was breathless because of all the running and all she did was nod her head and smile slightly.

"What's wrong?" asked Ned who was still in the elevator.

"Nothing! I- I was jogging..." It was pretty clear that Olive was hiding something.

"I didn't know you jog! We should go together sometime!" exclaimed Chuck.

"Isn't it late for jogging? I mean... It's kinda dangerous to jog by yourself at eleven o'clock at night..." Ned wanted to see how Olive would respond. He knew that she wasn't a very good liar.

"Oh... It was a... A one-time thing. I usually go after I leave from 'Pie Hole'..."

"Ok then..." said Ned and added: "That's odd... I distinctly remember locking the door..."

_Olive Snook felt her knees going weak and for a moment she 'froze'. She had a flashback all the way nineteen years, fifty-five weeks, one day and two minutes ago. The nervous waitress decided that the best thing she could do at the moment was to pretend not to have heard what the Pie Maker had just said and enter her apartment saying: _

"It's late and I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight! And don't forget about the jogging!" said Chuck with excitement.

"I won't!" said Olive and murmured as she closed the door: "Even if I wanted to, you won't let me..."

_As the Pie Maker and the girl named Chuck entered their apartment, it was obvious that Ned had not believed a word Olive had said._

"Did you notice her clothes?" asked Ned while closing the door.

"Huh?"

"Her clothes. Did you notice them? She was wearing a dress and high heels. There's no way she was jogging..."

"So... What do you think she was doing?"

"I don't know... I'm sure she's hiding something though. I am sure I locked the door when we left..."

"Are you a hundred percent sure?"

"Well... Not a hundred... I would say ninety-nine point seven is more accurate..."

"Ninety-nine point seven?"

"Yes. It's a- Decent number..."

"Ok..." said Chuck slowly.

"I just don't see why Olive would lie to us..."

"Well, we lie to _her_ every day. I think it was about time to start having secrets from us... I mean... She can't always be an open book. You know..."

"Yeah... I know..."

"Ok, you know what? Enough about Olive. What do you say I cook dinner? Just for you and me?"

"Um... I'm not really in the mood..."

"Oh... Come on!... For me?"

"Just promise you won't cook anything- dead..."

"I won't cook anything dead."

_Later_

"So?"

"It was good."

"Just good?"

"It was mac and cheese, Chuck! It was good."

"You know, you can be nicer! Just because _you_ are not in the mood, it doesn't mean it's my fault!"

"You're right. I'm sorry... I don't know what's gotten into me..."

_The Pie Maker knew exactly what had gotten into him. Olive Snook. Olive Snook and her secret. He knew that his employee and neighbor had been wandering around his apartment. He could see it in her eyes. And now, the person who knew so many secrets about everyone, had a secret of her own. The Pie Maker did not like the fact that he did not know what Olive was hiding. It was then when it hit him. Olive Snook, the petite former jockey and present waitress, did not know what _he_ was hiding. The Pie Maker could only imagine how that made her feel. Until now..._

"We have to tell Olive." he announced and Chuck looked up surprised.

"What?"

"We have to tell her."

"I thought you didn't want to..."

"Well... I want now."

"That's great! You know what? I'll go tell her to come here so we can tell her now!"

"No, Chuck! Wait! I think we should wait until tomorrow and- I think that I should be the one to tell her... Since it's my secret and everything..."

"Oh, ok! That sounds fair... So, um... Why did you decide to tell her?"

"I just did... I thought she would like to be an actual part of our 'team'"

"She will be thrilled!" said Chuck and her eyes shone. "Wait. What about Emerson? I bet he _won't_ be as happy..." she added.

"Hm... That's gonna be tough..." said the Pie Maker and smiled to the girl named Chuck.

**Thnx 4 reading! Plz review! TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Chapter 5 everyone! My PC isn't fixed yet so I have to write on my brother's (which is not really convenient)...**  
*****I own nothing!***No copyright infringement intended!*****

_Eight hours and five minutes later, Olive Snook opened her eyes. She had a strange feeling about that day. All she wanted to do was call in sick and stay in her apartment for as long as she could. But it was that feeling that made her get off the bed and put on her little waitress uniform._

_At the same moment, not a minute away from Olive Snook's apartment, the Pie Maker was awake and trying to find a way to tell his secret to the petite blonde waitress who -after all- had earned the right to know. The Pie Maker was standing in front of the mirror 'rehearsing' his speech and occasionally looking at the girl named Chuck who was still sleeping._

_Meanwhile, the Private Investigator, Emerson Cod, was already on his way to his office. He was not used to getting up so early but, that particular night, he couldn't sleep at all. The only thing that could be found in his mind –except of course the dollar sign- was the face of the brunette beauty who had convinced him to re-open his last case._

_One hour and twelve minutes later_

_The little bell on the door jingled as Olive Snook entered the "Pie Hole". The Pie Maker and the girl named Chuck were already there, making the first pies of the day. The blonde waitress put off her coat and pet Digby who was sitting near the door._

"Hey, Olive!" greeted Chuck and whispered to Ned: "Go!"

"She just came! Give her some time…" he whispered back and added : "Hi, Olive."

Olive waved at both of them with an awkward smile on her face. She then took her pen and pad, she put them in her pocket and she started cleaning some tables with a piece of cloth.

"Something's definitely off today…" murmured Ned and walked back to his kitchen.

"What do you mean?" Chuck was following him. She was still holding her rolling pin.

"Well… It's just… I think that Olive was in my apartment yesterday…"

"_Your_ apartment? I thought it was _our_ apartment! Unless of course you still think it's your apartment and I'm just a guest… Which would make no sense since I'm your girlfriend and everything…"

"What? Oh, no! Chuck, no! It _is_our apartment! Of course it is! See? I told you that something's off today…"

_The Dead Girl chose to ignore the Pie Maker's last words. She didn't speak but she was clearly not happy. At that moment, the little bell on the door jingled again. That time, it was the Private Investigator Emerson Cod who had just entered. The P.I. went straight to his usual table. He sat and waited for Olive to take his order._

"Hey… You're early today…" commented Olive as she approached Emerson.

"Just bring me a slice of cherry pie."

"You're not in the mood today, huh?"

"Do you want something?"

"Um… A la mode? As usual?"

"No…"

_Emerson Cod's response left the blonde waitress speechless. He would always eat pies a la mode. Every single day. But not that day… Something was definitely off…_

"Emerson?" Ned had appeared behind Olive without being seen by the P.I.. Thing hard to do considering that the top of Olive's head could barely reach the Pie Maker's shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Well… You didn't leave me much of a choice there, did you? I don't get why people have to say 'Can I ask you a question?' if they are going to, no matter what…" he murmured.

"What?"

"Just ask your question."

"What do you think of Olive?"

"That's your question?"

"Yes."

"What kind of question is that?"

"It's a… A normal question that anybody could ask…"

"What do you want?"

"I'm thinking to tell her the secret…"

"I'm sorry. I guess I didn't hear exactly what you said. I thought you said you are gonna tell Olive the secret…"

"That's what I said."

"There's a reason we call her 'Little Big Mouth' you know."

"_We_ don't call her 'Little Big Mouth'. _You_ call her 'Little Big Mouth'." said Chuck who had just came from the kitchen.

"Does the conversation concern you?" asked Emerson.

"Yeah..." answered Chuck and sat next to him. Emerson sighed. "I'm glad to sit next to you too, Emerson." she said almost mockingly.

_The Private Investigator didn't seem to care about Chuck's last comment. He just turned his head to the Pie Maker and said:_

"Why?"

"Because, Emerson, it's been too long! And she deserves to know!" Ned's answer wasn't clear. "Plus, I don't think she'll go and tell everyone about it…" he added.

"I don't think she'll believe you…"

_Emerson's response fell like a thunderbolt. Ned hadn't thought about that option. What if the truth was too weird even to be thought of? How would the petite waitress react? There were so many questions storming around the Pie Maker's head._

"Earth calling Pie Boy." Emerson's voice was what made Ned 'wake up'. He saw Chuck laughing at what Emerson had just said and Emerson being very nervous. "So? Why do you think that Olive would believe something like that?"

"He has a point, Ned. When I told her, she didn't believe me…"

"You told her?" Ned had a really surprised look on his face. "When?" he asked, but then he remembered. It was when he told Chuck that he was the one who had killed her father by bringing back his mother and she had left. Chuck told Olive the truth but Olive didn't believe her.

"It was when-" started Chuck but Ned interrupted her.

"Yeah… I remembered…"

"Ok…"

"Look… I think we should take a shot and… Well, we'll see where it'll take us…"

"I agree with Ned, Emerson… I mean… We have to tell her some time! I think now is a good moment…"

"Do whatever you want! Just don't come back 'crying' when you see your picture on the News entitled _'Dead woman came back to life by a Pie Maker. The society is shocked.'_!"

"Oh, please! Don't be so dramatic!" said Chuck and added with a lower voice: "Here she is!"

Olive approached the table holding a big slice of cherry pie.

"Sorry it took me so long but this guy over there wouldn't let me leave! I'm telling you, he's a _complete_ weirdo!..."

"Olive?" said Ned. "Why don't you sit down? We-"

"You." Emerson didn't want to be involved in this.

"_I_… have something to tell you…" Olive sat next to Ned. She looked at Chuck and Emerson with a kinda scared look on her face. She then turned to Ned and waited. He cleared his throat and after a small pause he said: "I can wake the dead."

**Thnx 4 reading! Plz review (I have a feeling that this chapter isn't as good as the rest though... :S and plz feel free to point out any mistakes i might have made)! TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Ok... 6th chapter... Guess my PC is _way_ more fragile than I thought... And something called school took all my time! Anyways, sorry for the 2-month delay. I'll try to update sooner this time.**

**A/N b): i changed it a bit... i feel it's better this way... can someone who has read the previous one tell which is better?  
**

*****I own nothing!***No copyright infringement intended!*****

_Olive Snook didn't move. She didn't even blink. She just sat there, with an awkward smile on her face._

"Olive? Olive, say something…" said Ned but Olive didn't move. "It's like she just had a mini stroke!..." whispered to Chuck and Emerson.

"Ok." said Olive, she got up and walked slowly to the kitchen.

"Oh, great…" sighed Ned.

"You couldn't use a small introduction, could you?" said Emerson.

"I didn't think of that… I guess I was a bit abrupt…"

"You think? Nah… Just a tad." said Emerson with a tone of irony in his voice.

"Ugh… I'll go talk to her." said Chuck and left.

"Chuck-"

"Let her go talk to Olive. We have a case to work on." interrupted Emerson.

"What case?"

"It's not like we have a lot of cases. We have _one open_ case, remember?"

"Right... With all that has been going on, I completely forgot about that..."

"Yeah. Well, I didn't."

"Can't say I'm surprised." murmured Ned.

"Ha ha. How funny. Now can we get back on the case?"

"I'm listening."

"Good. Good. So am I!"

"I'm not following..."

"Do you expect me to do all the work?"

"Well... You're the P.I. so... Technically it's your job... And since we're going 'old school', there's nothing I can do..."

"Oh, no, no, no. You're not escaping _that_ easy. I'm visiting Mrs. McCain and _you_ are coming with."

"What about Chuck and Olive?"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm guessing that Little Big Mouth will need some time to process what you just told her, so she'll be out of our way for a while."

"And Chuck?"

"What about her?"

"Isn't she coming?"

"Do you see her around? No. That means that she ain't coming. Not that I've got a problem with that..."

"So I guess it's just you and me..." whispered Ned but his mind was on Chuck and Olive.

_Meanwhile_

Olive was in the kitchen. Eating a cherry pie and having an empty look on her face.

"Olive?" said Chuck who entered slowly and hesitantly. "Olive are you ok?"

Olive looked at her while putting a big piece of pie in her mouth.

"I'm fine." she answered without having swallowed first.

"Are you sure? I mean... I know that it was pretty sudden for you and... If you want somebody to talk to... Well, I just want you to know that you can always talk to me..."

"Ok... Good to know." said Olive indifferently.

"Olive..." sighed Chuck and continued: "Olive, did you clean in here?" Chuck noticed that everything was in place and there was a sweet scent of detergent in the air.

"Yeah..."

"When?... Oh never mind..." she said, grabbed a fork, sat next to Olive and started eating.

"H- Hey!" protested Olive but without putting much effort to it.

"So...?" started Chuck.

"So... What?"

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about, Chuck."

"You don't want to know the truth?" Olive didn't respond. "For all I know, all you wanted was to learn the truth..."

"Listen, Chuck... I know the truth now. You just told me and-"

"Yeah, I know. But don't you wanna know why we hadn't tells you for so long? Or why Ned and I can't touch? Or-"

"Chuck! You act like you want to tell me these things! I didn't ask anything!"

"I want to tell you Olive. I really do! And, to my defense, I wanted to tell you all along..."

"And I wanted to know all along! But- But now... I- I can't..."

"You can't? What do you mean you can't?"

"I can't! I just can't! Because if you tell me, then I'll have to tell you... And I'm not sure I'm ready yet..."

"Tell me what?"

"Ugh... See? You're asking questions already!" said Olive. It was clear that she didn't want to tell Chuck anything. Not just yet. "Look... I really have to go... I promise to tell you when I'm ready..." she continued, got up, exited the kitchen hastily and left the 'Pie Hole' practically running. Chuck decided that the best thing to do, was to let Olive alone for some time. She would talk when she was ready. So, she took another piece of the cherry pie wondering what Olive couldn't tell her.

_As the Lonely Tourist Charlotte Charles, a.k.a. Chuck, sat in the kitchen eating the rest of the pie Olive Snook left, the Private Investigator Emerson Cod and the Pie Maker were on their way to Kimberly "Kim" McCain's house._

"So, um… What exactly are we gonna say to Kim?" asked Ned who had just opened the door of Emerson's car. "We know that Gus McCain isn't Ariel's father?" he continued while stepping out.

"No…" responded Emerson and added: "We are gonna tell her that we know that _she_ isn't Ariel's mother."

"What? How can you possibly know that?" Ned was visibly taken by surprise.

"With the help of a little thing called DNA testing." answered Emerson with a tone in his voice that the only thing you could expect to follow was "Duh…"

"And may I ask _how on Earth_ you took her DNA?"

"Used tissue. You know, the one she used to clean her nose with."

"Ok… Too much information."

"You were the one who asked. Now let's go. I don't wanna waste a lot of time here." said Emerson who had already approached the front door.

"Ok…" said Ned slowly and added: "Just one last question. _Who is_ Ariel's mother?" Emerson didn't answer. The expression on his face 'told' Ned he'd have to wait if he wanted to find out.

Emerson's finger reached the doorbell. He and Ned waited for a minute or two to hear a woman asking with a suspicious voice: "Who is it? I don't wanna buy anything!"

"Miss-" started Emerson but quickly corrected himself: "_Mrs._ McCain, it's Emerson Cod, the P.I. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

_The door opened slowly revealing a young brunette woman. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and her face was very pale._

"Hello, Mr. Cod. Come on in." she said as she opened the door. "Sorry about the mess… You see, I wasn't expecting anyone…" she continued while picking up some things off the floor.

"It's ok, Mrs. McCain." said Emerson. "This is Ned. He is helping me with the case." he added when he realized that Kim was looking at Ned weirdly.

"Nice to meet you." she said and raised her hand for a handshake.

"Hello… Nice to meet you too." responded Ned.

"Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Tea?" she asked.

At that moment, Emerson cleared his throat and said: "Mrs. McCain, why don't come here? We have to tell you something."

_Kimberly "Kim" Novak slash McCain stopped talking and the smile on her face was quickly replaced by a look of confusion. She slowly approached the sofa and sat. Emerson Cod cleared his throat again._

"There is some new information concerning your case."

"Oh… Um… So?" she asked nervously.

"Mrs. McCain…"

"Call me Kim."

"Ok. Kim, we know that Ariel wasn't your daughter." Kim stopped breathing for a moment.

"H-How… How did you… Um… How did you find out?..."

"I don't know anything…" whispered Ned to Emerson.

"I'll explain everything." Said Emerson and took a deep breath.

**Thnx 4 reading! Plz review (how was it? any mistakes?)! TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay... 7th chapter! hope u like it! :D sorry it took me so long but i was kinda out of ideas... :S (then i had myself a wonderful Pushing Daisies marathon and i was able to continue writing! :P) i'll try to update more often from now on :D**  
*****I own nothing!***No copyright infringement intended!*** **

_Fifteen minutes and fifteen seconds later, Ned was looking at Emerson as if he had just been punched in the face and Kimberly "Kim" Novac slash McCain had lost her breath for a moment._

"How did you find all that out?" she asked after taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

"DNA testing." answered Emerson firmly.

"Am- Am I in trouble?" asked the young woman worryingly.

"You still have a chance to clear things up and I can assure you that I'll try to get you out of any potential trouble." replied Emerson with a tender, caring voice causing Ned to forget for a moment what he had just heard and look at him with a very strange look.

_The only thing that came to Ned's mind but not out of his mouth was _"What on Earth are you saying?"._ Ned knew that the only thing Emerson Cod cared about -but money of course- was his own self. He had never seen the P.I. being interested in an other human being. That was weird even for him. But then, something interrupted his thoughts. It was Kimberly's voice, narrating what had really happen._

_The facts were these: eleven years, one month, twelve weeks, twenty nine days and one minute ago, Kimberly's mother, a woman named Jenifer, decided to adopt a child. As she would very often say, she always wanted more than one children but it wasn't meant to be. When she found a scared teenage girl who was desperate to give her child for adoption, she did not take much time to think about it. The process was quite fast and as soon as the baby girl was born she took her home and loved her like she was her own. Little did she know that one year, seven weeks and two days later she would tragically lose her life in a car accident. After that dreadful moment, Kimberly raised her baby sister like she was hers and never told her the truth. She even convinced Gus McCain to merry her so that baby Ariel would have a normal life in a normal family. And everything was normal. Until the day that someone killed young Ariel and -according to Kimberly- framed Gus._

_Ned and the Private Investigator listen carefully as Kimberly "Kim" Novac slash McCain finished her story the same way she did last time. With the phrase "Gus didn't kill Ariel."._

"We don't know who killed or did not kill Ariel. What we know, is that _you_ are not her mother, _Gus_ is not her father and _Elliot is_." said Emerson.

"Well- Wait. What? Elliot is Ariel's father?" asked Kim visibly surprised.

"You didn't know?"

"No... I only met that girl... That Olive Snook or something... She was about my age. But I had no idea who the father was. And -if you want my opinion- neither did she. I could tell that that girl was a-"

"Ok." interrupted Emerson and turned to Ned. "We need to have a little talk with Olive." Ned was still in such state of shock that the only thing he managed to do was to slowly nod his head.

_Meanwhile_

_As 'Lonely Tourist' Charlotte Charles was still at the 'Pie Hole' eating the last bit of the pie Olive left, the little bell on the door jingled again. Olive Snook had come back. The petite blonde waitress practically run to the kitchen and stopped when she saw that the person she was looking for was still there. A smile of relief was formed on the former jockey's face as she pulled a chair and sat next to Charlotte "Chuck" Charles._

"Hey Olive. Are you ok?" asked Chuck when she saw Olive sitting there looking kinda anxious.

"I'm Ariel's mother." said Olive abruptly making Chuck choke on some pie.

"What?" she asked after she drunk some water and cleared her throat.

"I'm Ariel's mother." said Olive again using the same tone she used the first time.

"Ariel... The little girl who died, Ariel? The one killed by her father? The one on the News, Ariel? _That_ Ariel?" Chuck couldn't believe what had just come out of the petite waitress' mouth.

"Yes, yes, yes and yes." answered Olive who was much more relaxed.

"You have a daughter." Chuck still couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Um... You know what? I'm just gonna leave you here until you are ready to talk." said Olive who had no idea why Chuck couldn't cope with the fact that she had a daughter. As soon as Olive walked out the kitchen and headed to the door, Emerson and Ned entered the 'Pie Hole'. Emerson looked at Olive and pointed to his usual table. Ned and the P.I. sat down while the blonde waitress -who had no idea what the two men wanted from her- prepared to take their order.

"Stop talking and sit down." interrupted Emerson and Olive sat down mechanically.

"What did I do?" she whispered to Ned who was sitting next to her.

"First of all, let's start with what you _didn't_ do." said Emerson without giving Ned the chance to answer and continued: "You _didn't_ tell us that you had a daughter and you _didn't_ tell us that that daughter was the girl who's all over the News because she was _killed_! How's that for a start?"

"Okay. _First of all_, I don't like your tone and _second of all_, you didn't tell me that you actually _talk_ to dead people!"

"That's not the same!"

"Actually, it's kinda the same..." said Ned.

"Oh, whose side are you on?"

"No one's! I'm just- Pointing out who's right..."

"You need to stop doing that." said Emerson with his usual tone.

_Ned didn't respond. He just turned his head away and looked at Olive. The waitress didn't say anything. She just sat there looking at Ned and then Emerson and then again Ned and again Emerson. She did that for six times before she got up and left without letting a word come out of her mouth. Now, it was the P.I. and the Pie Maker who were looking at each other and then at the door which was now closing making the little bell jingle once more._

"What the hell did just happen?" asked Emerson. Ned raised his shoulders showing his ignorance. "I knew I shouldn't have agreed to re-open this case. I've never re-opened a case in my life! And until Little Big Mouth decides to 'open up' and talks to us, we have absolutely _no_ leads to help us proceed." It was then that he realized that two things were missing from the table. The first? A nice big slice of Rhubarb Pie a la mode. And the second? Lonely Tourist Charlotte Charles. "Where's the Dead Girl?" he asked. "It's awfully quiet here."

"I thought you didn't like her." said Ned.

"I want her to bring my pie." answered Emerson and Ned rolled his eyes. "You're never going to change, are you?" he asked smiling.

**Thnx 4 reading! Plz review (if u have any suggestions on what should happen next, feel free to share them!)! TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Chapter 8. Sorry it took quite long to update but i got pretty obsessed with uploading Helena Bonham Carter movies on utube and wring a Sweeney Todd fanfic (which is not uploaded yet). anyways, nothing major happening in this chapter... hope u like it though :D**  
*****I own nothing!***No copyright infringement intended!*****

"_As we grow up, we learn that the person who wasn't supposed to let us down, probably will. You'll have your heart broken, probably more than once, and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too. So remember how it felt when someone broke yours. You'll fight with your best friend, and maybe even fall in love with them. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually loose someone close to you. So, laugh way too much and love like you've never been hurt, because every sixty seconds you spend angry or upset, is a minute of happiness you'll never get back." _

_These were the only words that Olive's mother ever told her when she was young that showed that -even a bit- she cared about her daughter. Young Olive could not understand their meaning, but as years went by, the former jockey started to understand what her mother wanted to say. She fell in love with the Pie Maker who ended up breaking her heart -and not only once. She herself had broken Alfredo's heart. She had realized that time was indeed passing way too fast and that it is hard to keep up with it and she lost her daughter with whom -even though she had never seen her ever since her birth day- shared a very special bond. Things were not going very well for Olive Snook for the last couple of months and she knew that. As she knew that they would probably get even worse._

"Oh, Digby... What am I gonna do now? I really screwed everything this time..." Olive was sitting on her living-room floor petting Digby who was laying on her legs. A few moments later, the doorbell rang. Digby got up quickly, ran to the door, looked up and waited there waving his tail. Olive got up shortly after Digby and walked to the door after fixing her dress. She looked through the peephole. 'Lonely Tourist' Charlotte Charles was standing outside moving back and forth -without moving her legs- with her hands crossed in front of her.

"Great... Just what I needed..." she whispered and stepped away from the door. "No, Digby. We're not answering that." she said to the dog when he looked at her with his tongue hanging out. "Come, Digby. Come here." The doorbell rang once more. Olive peeped from her peephole again. Charlotte 'Chuck' Charles was standing there playing with her hair and looking impatient. A few moments later, she sighed, turned and started to leave. It was then when the elevator stopped right in front of her. Ned stepped out holding the keys to his apartment.

"Hey." he said.

"Hi. Do you know where Olive is?" asked Chuck.

"I thought she was inside."

"Well... I just knocked and she's not there..."

"Really? That's weird... Maybe she went out."

"Maybe..." she agreed and stepped away so that Ned could open the door.

_As they entered their apartment, Olive Snook took a deep breath of relief and leaned backwards to the door. She was off the hook for now and she had all night to prepare what she was going to say to Ned, Chuck and Emerson the next day as she knew that they would probably have a sea of questions for her. But wait- Come to think of it, she herself had a sea o question for _them_. And she wasn't just going to let go the fact that she had finally learned the Pie Maker's big secret. _

_Seven hours, twelve minutes and forty seconds later, the Pie Maker open his eyes and turned the alarm clock off. Every single day ever since Charlotte "Chuck" Charles had come into his life, he would wake up in the morning and stared at her as the sunlight would move across her face and wake her up. But not this time. This time he got up almost immediately after waking up. He threw the bed covers off him and got up as fast but also as quiet as he could but Chuck still woke up._

"Good morning." she greeted while rubbing her eyes.

"Hey." said Ned with a sign of disappointment in his voice.

"What's wrong?" she asked while sitting up.

"Nothing."  
"What time is it?"

"Early." he answered and he put his shirt on.

"How early?" her eyes shrinked with suspicion.

"Early enough to go back to sleep."

"Why are you up so early then? Where are you going?" she got up and walked slowly towards him.

"To 'Pie Hole'. I have some unfinished business." Chuck wanted to ask what kind of business but she thought that she was asking to many questions so she simply said "Ok." and got back to bed. As she pulled the covers, Ned put his coat on and left the room waving goodbye to her. She smiled and closed her eyes after checking to see what time it was. It was only six thirty.

_That same moment, Olive Snook was sitting on her bed with her head between her hands. She hadn't had a good night's sleep that night. Every time she got even remotely close to sleeping, images would spin in her waking her up again. She spent the entire night laying on the bed doing nothing but staring at the ceiling. The petite waitress checked her watch. Six thirty. It was then that she remembered that there was a special delivery to arrive at 'Pie Hole' that day and that she was already late. She 'jumped' up, put on her little green waitress uniform and her red-ish jacket, took Digby by his leash, grabbed her keys and left the apartment almost running._

"Oh Digby! We're really late! How could I forget something like that? No! Come on! You can't stop now!" she said and pulled the leach when Digby stopped and started smelling a tree. It was then that she saw the Pie Maker walking on the sidewalk opposite her. _"What is he doing here so early?"_ thought Olive and stopped walking in order to see where Ned was going. He turned and headed towards 'Pie Hole'. _"Oh, crap!"_ she thought but decided that she had no other choice but to go that way too.

A few minutes later, Olive entered the 'Pie Hole'. She put off her coat while looking towards the kitchen. She hung it on the clothes hunger by the door and unleashed Digby who run straight to the Pie Maker.

"Hey, Digby!" exclaimed Ned and took a small step back when he saw the dog coming without slowing down. The Golden Retriever barked happily. "Hey." said the Pie Maker and waved looking at Olive. The petite waitress shook her head and smiled awkwardly. Come to think of it, that was all she did when the Pie Maker was around. She would always put on the same awkward smile and then -almost immediately- look away. She walked hesitantly to the kitchen, took her apron and put it on.

"Listen, Olive..."

"Look Ned, I know what you are gonna say. You're gonna say that what I did was wrong and that I should have told you when I found out that she was killed but-"

"That's not what I was gonna say..."

"It wasn't?" Olive seemed confused.

"No. I was going to say that I'm terribly sorry..." replied Ned and hugged the blonde waitress whose head could barely reach his shoulder. She hugged him back and -at that moment- the Pie Maker understood that that was what Olive needed the most. Someone to hug her and stand by her.

"Thanks..." she said and hold him tight in her arms. "You know..." she continued after taking a step back "That was just what I needed..." her voice was hoarse like she was ready to start crying. She smiled at him gently and took her notepad.

_As Olive Snook walked away, Ned could not but think what she had been through and just how strong she had been all this time. He also could not but think that ever since he told her 'the secret', she hadn't ask a single question. Not even one. He approached the counter and he watched as the petite former jockey was cleaning the table next to the door. The one where Emerson Cod, the P.I., would soon be sitting at._

**Thnx for reading! Plz review! :D TBC**_  
_


	9. Chapter 9

** A/N: Ok... chapter 9! :D Looks like my little break was so little after all... but anyways, sorry for the delay! (i don't even know how long it's been since i last updated! :\ ) Plz note that i've been writing things as they come to mind so if there is something that seems out of place, don't hesitate to tell me and i'll correct it ASAP...**

_If Olive Snook could turn back time, she would change absolutely nothing about her decision on giving her baby for adoption. That what she would say to herself. But now? Now she would change everything._

"Excuse me..." the voice came as if someone was calling from the end of a very long tunnel. "Excuse me!"

"Yes?" Olive gasped as the man's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"I brought your order." said the young man showing three boxes on top of each other.

"Yes. Yes, right. Um... wait here for a sec." said Olive and went to the kitchen. "Hey. Your order's here." she said to Ned who was busy making an apple pie. He was no longer afraid that Olive would see him use rotten fruit although he never told her about that part of the 'waking the dead' thing. He raised his eyes and looked at the petite waitress standing a few meters away from him.

"Thanks." he said, left a piece of apple on the table, wiped his hands on his apron and exited the kitchen giving Olive a last look.

_Olive Snook watched as the Pie Maker and the cute delivery boy shook hands and walked towards the boxes. She then turned and approached the unfinished apple pie. _

"I can't believe I ate from those pies!" she said to herself while picking up a rotten apple and bringing it close to her face so she could sniff it. "Ugh! Gross!" she quickly placed it back on the table.

_The former jockey wondered around the kitchen for a while trying to find something. She didn't know what. Just something out of place. The big room with the heavy door which was always locked was -much to the petite waitress' surprise- unlocked. Olive hesitated for a second. Should she open the door? Who am I kidding? She thought and puled the handle. The stink that came was unbelievable. Olive Snook knew that there were rotten fruit in there but she had forgotten just how awfully they smelled. She tried not to breath while in there. Fortunately, she could hold her breath for a pretty long time._

"Olive?" asked Ned who was standing behind her. Just watching her.

"Gee, Ned! Do you always walk as quiet as a cat?" she asked as she turned around, just to realize that the Pie Maker was standing a few centimeters away from her.

"Yes." he answered but quickly changed his answer to 'no', when he understood that the most acceptable answer to what she had just asked him probably wasn't 'yes'. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing..." replied Olive while trying to close the heavy door. "This" she said and turned to Ned "is a really heavy door."

"I'll close it." he said and moved forward as Olive took a step to her left. "Here you go." he said when he closed the door.

"Thanks..." said Olive and cleared her throat. "I... I should go now. So many things to do, so little time." she said and headed towards the door in a desperate attempt to avoid any questions the Pie Maker might have.

"Olive?" he said.

_Damn!_ She thought and turned around. "Yes?" she asked.

"I understand that you probably have a lot of questions and- well. I can't say I blame you. If you want, you can stay after closing tonight and I'll explain everything. Thoroughly."

_Olive Snook could tell that Ned was nervous. By the sound of his voice. By the way he was standing. By the way he was looking at her... The truth was, Olive did have a lot of questions. Questions she wanted to be answered ever since she found out that Ned could bring the dead back to life. But she wasn't sure if she wanted the answers. Not anymore. She was afraid of what their impact would be. And after all, she had started getting used to not knowing everything. To being the outsider, although she wouldn't admit it. The waitress was so lost in her own thoughts, she didn't realize that she had stayed there without moving for almost two minutes._

"Ok."she answered when she saw Ned looking at her somewhat puzzled and left. "I have lots to do." she told as she exited the kitchen.

_The Pie Maker took a deep breath and continued making the apple pie. He grabbed the piece of apple with his right hand and all the rotting miraculously disappeared. He then caught it with his left hand -which was gloved- and placed it carefully on top of the others on the dough. He did this a couple of times before Olive Snook's head peeped from the door._

"Say Ned, who was this guy you were talking to?" she asked.

"The delivery boy?..." he answered a bit confused.

"Yeah. But _who_ was he? I mean, do we know his name?"

"Um... No. I don't usually ask for the delivery people's names. Why?"

"Oh. No reason..." she said a bit disappointed and left.

"_What was that?"_ thought Ned but quickly forgot what had happened and returned too his pie-making procedure.

_Meanwhile, Private Investigator Emerson Cod was enjoying the company of a young brunette woman. Kimberly "Kim" McCain._

"Mr. Cod. I didn't expect you to come."she said when she opened the door and saw Emerson standing there holding a nice flower bouquet in his hands.

"Please, call me Emerson." said the man and added: "This is for you." Kim McCain took the flowers with a confused look on her face.

"Thank you um... Emerson... Please come in. Make yourself comfortable." she said as the P.I. stepped inside and she closed the door. Emerson walked towards the living-room.

"Can I get you anything?" the woman's voice was heard from what Emerson thought was the kitchen.

"Um... No thanks..." said Emerson after a small pause.

"You sure you don't want anything?" asked again Kim but Emerson's answer remained the same. "Ok then." said Kim and went to the living-room as well. "So...?" she started when she sat on the sofa next to Emerson. "What brings you here? News on the case?"

"Just wanted to see how you're holding up."

_Kim didn't expect that response from Emerson. Truth was, she had indeed noticed that the Private Investigator was somewhat interested in her but showing up in her front step with flowers? That, she definitely did not see coming._

"I'm okay..." she said. "Still shaken up. I keep expecting Ariel to show up through that door holding a little frog... She loved bringing animals in the house. Frogs and tortoises were her favorite..."

_Emerson saw a tear running down her face. He wanted to say something but he wasn't sure what. This was the first time that a suspect cried in front of him. But he didn't consider Kim to be a suspect. He was sure of it. Besides, little Ariel told that it was her Father who killed her. Not her Mother. But _who_ had killed little Ariel McCain? Gus McCain who she considered her father or Elliot McCain, her real father? The P.I.'s mind wondered. It wondered from the little dead girl, to Kim, to Elliot and then to Olive. So many questions. Why did Kim lied when she first went to the Private Investigator's office? How did Olive know Elliot McCain? And most importantly, why didn't she say anything when she saw her own daughter's picture on the News with the tag "Murder Victim" on the bottom? So many questions. As Emerson's mind kept wondering, Kimberly "Kim" McCain excused herself and went to the bathroom. It was then that the Private Investigator decided to do what he knew best. Investigate. Emerson Cod got up from the sofa and walked around the living-room. There was a very big fireplace. By the looks of it, it hadn't been used for a long time. _"Just for decoration..."_ thought Emerson and he took a step closer to look at the photos that were placed there. All of them showed a little girl with long blond hair and big green eyes. Emerson wished he had a picture of Olive Snook as a child to compare it with the ones on the fireplace. But even without the picture, he was sure that the resemblance was obvious. He then noticed a small stuffed bear, tucked nicely in the corner. He reached out to take it but a voice coming from behind him stopped him._

"This was Ariel's favorite toy..." said Kim. "I remember the day we bought it like it was yesterday..." she continued and then made a small pause. Like she was waiting for Emerson to interrupt. But he didn't. "You know how all the little girls like to play with Barbie dolls and miniature kitchens? Ariel was never like that... She'd much rather play football with the boys than tea party with her friends... She is such a little tomboy. Well- was..." Kim stopped talking. She realized that talking about Ariel was making her feel relieved. She looked at Emerson to see if he was still interested in their conversation and when he assured her that what she was saying was very interesting, she resumed talking.

_Emerson Cod just stayed there. In front of the fireplace, with his hand still a tad raised from when he had reached for the teddy bear. He was listening to the young woman like there was nothing in the world that could make him do otherwise. He even found himself looking at her mouth, as it was forming the words. And at her hands. He noticed that when she talked, she would always move her hands around. Emerson Cod was now sure. He was falling for her. And he didn't mind at all..._

**A/N: Thnx 4 reading! Plz review :D TBC**


	10. Author's Note

Heeey! It's me! I hope you didn't forget me! :P Anyways, I'm sooo sorry this is not an actual update on the story but I'd just like to let you know that an update is on its way! I've been working on it as we speak! Also, I'm extremely sorry I haven't updated for like ever! I was a senior in high school up until a couple of days ago and the final exams are the most important thing! This means I had to study like I had never studied b4! :P But -on the bright side- finals are finally over! *yay* So from now on, I'll try to update more often! A _lot_ more often! :D :D

Also, I'd like to take a moment and thank all my reviewers which is something I should have done way earlier and I really dunno why I neglected it for so long! So, thank you:

**Demlurina**: My very first reviewer! :D I hope you'll keep on reading!

**Snot**: Thnx for letting me know that I had made a mistake on the weeks thing. I had realized.. :P

**ElphieUpland**: I really like the enthusiasm on ur reviews! :P

**Gfcem**: Thnx for reviewing! And about ur question on chapter 4, I think I PMed u about it but if I didn't, then yes. I think that it was mentioned in an episode that Ned doesn't eat meat... I'm not entirely sure though...

**xBleepblapbloopx**: Thank you for taking the time to review! :) I really appreciate it!

**Missy**: I'm so glad u like my story! :D More updates coming soon! :)

**Valentine123**: Thank u! I hope I write more too! :P I'll have myself a nice PD marathon one of these days to get back on track!

**Anna Marie Raven**: Hope you like my story! Thnx for reviewing! :)

**James Birdsong**: Thank u for ur review! I hope u'll keep reading :)

**WildCroconaw**: Thank u for all the reviews! :D Made me smile! :P

**Anonymous**: Thank u for reviewing :)

**Anonyme**: I'm so happy u like my story! :) I hope u r still interested :)

_**P.S.**: Some of you guys don't have an account so I have no idea if you will keep checking this story out and reading it... Anyways, if you do, thank you! If you don't, thank you again for reading it so far! :) :)_

Last but not least, I'd like to thank everyone who has added my story to their alert and favorites list! :D (I'm not going to list them all here. You guys know who you are! :P)

So... THANK YOU ALL! :D YOUR REVIEWS CERTAINLY PUT A SMILE ON MY FACE! And btw, I really hope you haven't given up on me or my story! I promise I'll update soon! :D


End file.
